Nor does it settle whether governments will aim to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees C (2.7 degrees F) above pre-industrial times or closer to 2 degrees C (3.6 degrees F).
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“President Obama is so desperate for a climate deal in Paris that he will do anything he can to get one”, Barrasso, who serves as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Multilateral International Development, Multilateral Institutions and International Economic, Energy and Environmental Policy, said.
Some protesters chanted “what do we want?”
The comments came as a “high ambition coalition” – thus far excluding Australia, but including the US, Europe and almost 80 African and island nations – has emerged on the final days of the climate summit in a bid to deliver an ambitious global agreement to curb greenhouse gas emissions.
He shrugged off concerns that India is being considered as a villain of the climate negotiations for insisting that rich countries take most responsibility for global warming, saying he considered it a compliment.
Kerry had a bilateral meeting with Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar on Tuesday evening in which differentiation is said to have figured prominently.
De Brum said an ambitious treaty would include a goal of keeping warming to 1.5 degrees, have a clear pathway to a low-carbon future, five-yearly updates, a strong package of support for developing countries and aid of at least NZ$147 billion a year.
“They’re having a good time, and I’m sure they’re having enough to eat and enough to drink, but that party will be over”.
The talks in Paris are scheduled to end in two days.
Last Saturday, negotiators from 195 countries agreed on a weighty 48-page document, the summation of four years of talks that began in Durban in 2011.
The draft has removed a lot of the bracketed text and options in previous versions but not for the most contentious issues, which are only likely to be resolved in the final hours on Friday or over the weekend if the talks drag on.
French President Francois Hollande (L) welcomes Australia’s Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull as he arrives for the opening day of the World Climate Change Conference 2015. “I think we have a moment here where we can change the momentum”.
“Developed countries are hell-bent on changing this principle – so we can expect a big fight”, said Meena Raman, a negotiations expert with the Third World Network.
Star Wars heroes are trying to save Earth from getting too hot.
Several activist groups staged small protests around Paris and the conference venue Wednesday pushing for an ambitious climate accord, from Greenpeace with a huge mechanical polar bear to others dressed up as Star Wars characters Yoda and Storm Troopers.
Rich countries promised six years ago in Copenhagen to muster $100 billion (92 billion euros) a year from 2020 to help developing nations make the costly shift to clean energy, and to cope with the impact of global warming. Developing nations have been demanding more money for adaption as they struggle with increased extreme weather events, like hurricanes, heavy rains and floods.
That would bring in countries like China, Mexico or South Korea, which are already providing substantial amounts of money for other developing nations.
Lead U.S. negotiator Todd Stern told reporters that the 1992 system created a “stark bifurcation” between countries “with expectations of who does what” regardless of “how advanced or wealthy or large emitters countries became”.
Speaking on condition of anonymity because the talks were ongoing, the negotiator said that the alliance is expected to announce common positions on crunch issues later Wednesday.
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But it comes amid fears that some countries are using the negotiations process to slow down progress so an unambitious deal is finalised in the last hours of the conference.
